1) As a group, list two (2) things/ideas from this week’s lecture that members of the discussion group found interesting. Write a short description of why they were interesting.
Something we found interesting from the lecture was the idea that the internet has been theorized to be a unique space of reciprocal intertextuality. There is no central text that the internet is built upon but it exists as a network of texts that we can all understand. There is an extensive internet culture, people can communicate through things like memes which are built upon previous texts and references to other sources. These memes can have great depth and convey a complex web of previous internet knowledge, but are still understood by the viewer.
We also found it interesting how many of the individuals mentioned in the lecture were women. Julia Kristeva a psychoanalyst, scholars Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak and Angela Davis, Bell Hooks an author all made significant contributions to the design world. The past lectures have featured mostly male figures, so seeing several women who had significant impact on the world of design was both interesting and inspiring to us. Additionally it was intriguing to see how their unique perspectives and views affect design.
2) Then list two (2) things/ideas from this week’s lecture that members of the discussion group found difficult or confusing. Write a short description of how the group worked through discussing these difficult/confusing ideas. (Did you come to any conclusions as a group?).
Something we thought was confusing was the idea of deconstruction. The theory that a text contains several irreconcilable meanings, so therefore is open to different interpretations, is a hard concept to grasp since we are used to thinking in a binary fashion. This is something we could understand in some texts, like a fiction novel seems to be a more open ended text that could have different meanings, but not in others, like an opinion piece. How can a work of text clearly written from a place of opposition be interpreted in conflicting ways? Does the idea of deconstruction only work for specific texts? While thinking through this, we decided to look at deconstruction as how it applies to the way different people can interpret one text based on their own prior knowledge and lived experience. Deconstruction is a way to analyze text that recognizes its underlying contradictions rather than just accepting its intended or seemingly obvious meaning.
Another concept we found confusing was post-structuralism because of the abstract ideas presented, and how many questions it can create. The nature of post-structuralism as a concept that is mostly up to interpretation and focused on social constructs was confusing to us. After continuing our research and comparing post-structuralism to structuralism we were able to gain a slightly better understanding of the concept and its benefits.
3) Also list one (1) thing/idea that you encountered in the required All Links (Week 6) list that members of the discussion group enjoyed. Write a short description of why it was enjoyable.
We found the video Stranger Things And Intertextuality the most enjoyable because it was the most memorable video while also being the one that resonated with us the most. It used the show Stranger things, and other famous pop culture films to explain intertextuality, and show how previous media can shape the meaning of another. In this instance it talks about how previous movies shaped how the Stranger Things directors formed their characters, they took inspiration from typical character archetypes and took their own creative spin on them. It explains how communication through pop culture references can shape the characters, and how these references can be articulated through intertextuality. The takeaway we got from this video is to avoid the anxiety of creating a work that has already been made before using surrounding media as inspiration and add your unique flare to the idea to create something revolutionary.
4) Then list one (1) thing/idea that you encountered in the required All Links (Week 6) list that members of the discussion group could not agree on. Write about what sorts of different responses members of the group had to this particular thing/idea.
Something that the members of our group could not agree on is the idea from Judith Butler that gender is a performance.
Harper: I agree with Judith Butler on the idea that gender is performed. There are widespread established ideas of gender and how someone should behave based on their presentation. Simple culturally formed concepts, like girls should have long hair, wear dresses, and like pink, have no natural or immutable connection to gender. People can signal their gender by performing social norms associated with the gender they present as. A person can either “blend in” or disrupt our culturally informed binary perceptions of gender based on how they perform these social norms.
Kendall: I also agree that gender itself is performed. Culture puts a lot of pressure on girls and boys to act certain ways, wear certain clothes, play with certain toys, and behave certain ways. Culture is known to shame boys for liking the color pink because it is a “girly” color or look down on girls who do not wear makeup because culture expects them to. It is also common for culture to accept certain things that boys do while not having the same grace for girls. There’s the saying “boys will be boys,” but no equivalent for girls.
Emily: I also agree that gender is a performative concept. There is no real reason why we have certain "feminine" attributes connected to female identifying people and “masculine” attributes to someone who identifies as male. They are culturally constructed concepts we have learned and become accustomed to.
Ava Blu: While I agree that in the sense that some groups people have to perform their gender to be accepted or to avoid violence, I disagree and think there is a flip side, those who “agree” with their gender fit within the societal expectations. Specifically I would say I agree with my gender, I enjoy expressing my femininity, and it does not feel like I am performing my gender. I also understand not everyone feels this way or are in a situation where they feel unsafe to fully express their chosen gender.
5) Please list when and where you met as a group, and list all members in attendance that participated in the discussion.
We met on facetime on Wednesday Sep. 24 at 2:45 pm, Kendall, Harper, Ava Blu, and Emily were in attendance.
